WASHINGTON -- Attacks and kidnappings by the Philippines-based Abu
Sayyaf terrorist group have repercussions for travelers to
Malaysia, according to the State Department.
The department said Abu Sayyaf gunmen stormed a Malaysian diving
resort on the island of Pandanan, seizing three Malaysian hostages,
on Sept. 11.
U.S. citizens should avoid all travel to the areas around
Semporna and Tawau on the Sabah mainland and to the islands off
southeastern Sabah, including Sipadan and Pandanan, it said.
Separately, in a public announcement on Indonesia, the
department advised U.S. citizens to avoid travel to West Timor, the
Moluccas and Aceh.
Travelers to Indonesia were advised to exercise caution in East
Timor and the regions nearest to the Philippines in northern
Kalimantan and Sulawesi, as well as the resort island of Lombok
about 25 miles from Bali.
The Indonesian government has restricted travel by foreign
government officials to Aceh, Papua and Maluku.
Violent demonstrations flared up briefly in Bali last October,
but conditions quickly returned to normal, the department said.
The State Department also renewed a travel warning against
Angola "because of continued military conflict in interior
provinces and increased violent criminal activity" including
kidnapping threats against foreigners.